Companies from the Czech Republic, Poland and Ukraine became the winners of the Persistent Airfield Denial (the permanent blocking of enemy airfields) innovation competition held by NATO Allied Command Transformation and the NATO-Ukraine Joint Analysis, Training and Education Centre (JATEC), UNN reports, citing the Ministry of Defence.
The key feature of Persistent Airfield Denial is Ukraine’s combat experience
As noted by the Ministry of Defence, the particular focus of Persistent Airfield Denial is on the autonomy of solutions, the possibility of scaling them up, their resilience to electronic warfare, as well as their ability to operate under conditions of limited access to navigation and communications systems.
The key feature of the challenge was the involvement of Ukrainian combat experience in evaluating the proposed technologies. The novelty of the solutions and the possibility of applying them in a modern combat environment were assessed.
What solutions did the winners of Persistent Airfield Denial present?
The Czech team LPP Holding took first place, presenting a long-range solution designed to operate with minimal dependence on external control.
Second place was awarded to innovators from Poland, who presented a comprehensive proposal for the pre-planned destruction of elements of the enemy’s airfield infrastructure.
Third place went to developers from Ukraine, who proposed an artificial intelligence module for target guidance. The solution is intended to increase the autonomy and accuracy of strike systems.
60 competition applications – 9 teams in the final
The organizers received more than 60 applications for the competition. During the challenge’s final in Warsaw, Poland, nine teams presented their solutions.
The Ukrainian experts and jury members included representatives of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, in particular representatives of the Air Force Command, the Unmanned Systems Forces, the Omega unit of the National Guard of Ukraine, and other formations of Ukraine’s Defence Forces.
On behalf of NATO, the finalists’ proposals were evaluated by representatives of the Alliance’s Commands, as well as the NATO DIANA Defence Innovation Accelerator.
The next stage will be the testing and combat validation of the solutions, which will make it possible to assess their effectiveness and potential for further scaling, the Ministry of Defence concluded.
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